Lead Pipe Locks by Thor's Hammer

This is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend in college ball beginning with the only ACC game that you should watch all season long. With 6 games between BCS top 25 teams after this week we should know a lot about how the season will play out. Ohio State, Boston College and Arizona State all face their first true tests...in freaking week 9. Welcome to the season guys. Without further ado, here are your week 9 locks. And yes, the above picture makes Tim Tebow the coolest religious nut we can think of.

Virginia Tech 24 - Boston College 21

Virginia Tech has gotten back to what they do best: play hard defense and great special teams. Even though their offense is still a little weak playing at home, at night and on a Thursday should propel them ahead of a solid BC squad. BC QB Matt Ryan has played many great teams while at Chestnut Hill but he has not had the pleasure of facing VT on the road at night. Look for Ryan to stage a late comeback only to fall short of the upset. For the umpteenth time this season, #2 will go down.

Florida 31 - UGA 20

Florida owns UGA more than any other team and this season will not be any different. The Gators have the Heisman front runner in QB Tim Tebow and have one of the nastiest offenses in the country. UGA has a QB who continues to make mistakes and they have marginal WR's. Look for this game to be close at the half until the Fightin' Tebows pull away in the 3rd quarter. Tebow goes for another 3-4 TD's cementing his place among the nations elite players.

Ohio State 21 - Penn State 13

I do not think Ohio State is the best team in the country. I do, however, feel that they have played well enough to warrant their #1 rating. The game at Penn State really isn't as big of a game as Big 11 fans would have you believe but because it is being played at night the Lions should have a decent shot at the upset. I see a late Anthony Morelli pick 6 sealing the win for the Buckeyes. On a side note, look for Big 11 homer Brent Musberger's head to explode while he lauds the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel.

USC 31 - Oregon 27

I think USC's defense will be too much for Oregon to handle and the Ducks defense leaves a lot to be desired. USC is finally healthy again and has the most talent in the Pac 10 and it is only a matter of time until they begin to show it on the field. Oregon is playing with too many injuries, particularly at the WR spot, to be able to handle the Trojan D. If the Duck WR's were healthy they would have a much better chance at exposing the one weakness of the Trojan D. Alas, they are not healthy thus the Trojans should take this game on the road.

South Florida 27 - Uconn 17

Uconn robbed Louisville of a win last week at home but should have a much tougher time putting points on the board against a stout Bull defense. While USF slipped up last week against a solid Rutgers team, look for them to rebound by beating a quality opponent in Uconn. Matt Grothe should go for 3-4 TD's and the USF D should shut down Uconn's average offense.

Kansas 31 - Texas A&M 24

Kansas has one of the best offenses in the country and can really throw the ball well. Texas A&M has one of the worst passing defenses in the country...uh oh. Look for Kansas to spread out TAMU and throw the ball all over the field. The only hope TAMU has is for the ground game to chew up large amounts of clock keeping the KU offense on the sideline. If KU can pull this game out, their toughest game to date, it will set up a thriller when KU and MU meet for the Big 12 North crown at the end of the year.

West Virginia 27 - Rutgers 20

This game should be a interesting one. A finesse offense against a smash mouth defense and a smash mouth running game against a soft defense. If you like your offense to stay on the ground this game should be right up your alley. Look for Pat White and Steve Slaton to put up some gaudy stats and pull out a victory against a game Rutgers squad. Even though I have Rutgers going down, look for Ray Rice to run all over the Mountaineer defense.

California 31 - Arizona State 26

Arizona State has not played a team worth a damn all season long and we are at week 9. Cal has had back-to-back losses and are facing a must win situation if they want to keep any hopes of winning the Pac 10. Look for Longshore and Jackson to connect several times against a suspect Arizona State defense. I like what Dennis Erickson has done thus far but they have not played, let alone beaten, anyone of substance this season.